Carl Bernstein — half of the Washington Post team that exposed the Watergate scandal in the 1970s — said on Wednesday that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s remarks regarding Russian hackers attacking rival Hillary Clinton should effectively put an end to his presidential run.

The Hill reported that Bernstein said on CNN, “Today we have reached a tipping point in this election. This is a disqualifying event for a president of the United States.”

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At a rambling 45-minute press conference on Wednesday, Trump responded to questions about Russian intelligence operatives hacking the Democratic National Committee’s servers by saying, “If they hacked, they probably have her 33,000 emails. I hope they do. They probably have her 33,000 emails that she lost and deleted. You’d see some beauties, so we’ll see.”

“Russia, if you’re listening,” he continued, “I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.”

In short, he is calling for Russian hackers to dig up incriminating opposition research on Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, a first in U.S. politics so far as anyone has been able to determine.

Bernstein said, “It ought to be apparent to all, and the Democrats should be able to make the case, that he is manifestly unsuited to be the president of the United States because of his recklessness with the national security.”

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About the Author

David Ferguson is an editor at Raw Story. He was previously writer and radio producer in Athens, Georgia, hosting two shows for Georgia Public Broadcasting and blogging at Firedoglake.com and elsewhere. He is currently working on a book.